“With the right policies and services in place, population ageing can be viewed as a rich new opportunity for both individuals and societies.” — Dr. Margaret Chan, Director General, World Health Organization, in the Preface to the 2015 World Report on Ageing and Health.
From left to right: Michael Waser, Ninie Wang, Lixin Yu, Fang Liu, H.E. Jean-Jacques de Dardel, Yi Pan, Henk Verloo, Heidi Longerich
On the occasion of a delegation visit from Swiss universities of applied sciences consisting of experts in the area of ageing, the Embassy of Switzerland in China organized a panel discussion and reception with respective Chinese colleagues on the Topic: “The Future of Ageing in Switzerland and China: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities“.
Before the panel started, H.E. Jean-Jacques de Dardel, Ambassador of Switzerland to China, welcomed the audience to his residence and reflected in his welcome speech on the health care developments in Switzerland. Prof Liu Fang, Deputy Director of China Research Center on Aging, then held a keynote speech on the latest developments of ageing in China. Her speech included the latest results of a survey the research center recently conducted whit the aim to better understand current living conditions and needs of the elderly.
During the subsequent panel discussion which was moderated by Michael Waser, Deputy Head of the Science and Education Section at the Swiss Embassy, the following Chinese and Swiss experts discussed the main challenges and exchanged experiences in the different countries:
- Ms. LONGERICH Heidi, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Director of Institute of Nursing / Health Professions
- Prof. VERLOO Henk, University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland, Senior Researcher / Nursing Science
- Prof. PAN Yi, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Professor of Social Policy
- Mrs. YU Lixin, YYK Healthcare Management Co. Ltd, Founder and Chairwoman of Board
- Mrs. WANG Ninie, Pinetree Senior Care Services, Co-Founder and CEO
An interesting point raised during the discussion was that the status of nurses had to be increased so that the profession would be attractive to enough for potential students. It was clear to the audience that neither of the two countries has a perfect solution and both countries can learn a lot from each other.
A VIDEO SUMMARY OF THE EVENT WILL FOLLOW SHORTLY
